The series will first be shown in eight-minute increments over 10 weeks, on Web sites affiliated with Sony. Later, Sony will release a traditional DVD of the series, the Journal.

As The Wall Street Journal pointed out on Monday, "the company's plan marks Hollywood's latest attempt to harness the Internet's tremendous power to spread entertainment without losing out on revenue." (The Journal, like MarketWatch is a unit of News Corp.
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)

The key concept in that quotation is "latest attempt." Sony is not alone here, of course. Hollywood recognizes the power of the Web, it just simply hasn't been able to wrap its arms around the Internet as a money-making force. Hollywood is terrific (well, sometimes) at creating content but not so hot at using technology to its advantage.

Hollywood studios should aggressively partner with Silicon Valley companies, from the majors like Apple Inc.
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and Google Inc.
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to the unknown start-ups. I don't know whether it's pride or arrogance that gets in the way.

Hollywood isn't shy about engaging in joint ventures with brands to feature product placement ads of all kinds. Entertainment companies have found out how to work with corporate America in these ways -- so why not with technological advances?

The Journal observed that Sony is "working hard to crack the online market." Crackle.com. showcases professional and user-generated content picked by Sony editors. A portion of it is available in episodes that ape television programs, including the comedy "Mr. Deity."

That's the chaotic state of entertainment on the Web in a nutshell, everything from "Angel of Death" to "Mr. Deity."

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